Vixen VMC200L Catadioptric Telescope with SXW Sphinx Mount

Vixen VMC200L Telescope with SXW Sphinx Equatorial Mount The Vixen VMC200L is a telescope suitable for observation of all types of celestial objects. The VMC200L is a unique design that employs a meniscus corrector lens along with two high-precision spherical mirrors to help eliminate spherical aberration and yield a sharp image with no hint of false color. The VMC200L offers excellent performance for both visual and photographic use. The open tube design eliminates the dew problem that is common with conventional Schmidt-Cassegrain systems and its compact size makes it very easy to handle. The rack and pinion focuser accepts 2 eyepieces and accessories with an adapter. The SPHINX equatorial mount and STARBOOK controller have been intelligently engineered for high-speed automatic location of celestial objects. It is now possible to explore the beauty of the night sky with greater ease and stability. The SPHINX comes standard with built in motors and the world's first star chart go-to controller STARBOOK with a large full color LCD display. The Sphinx’s design is exceptional and the exterior styling is equally attractive. Features of the SPHINX equatorial mount: 180-tooth worm gears for fine full circle motion. 22lbs. recommended loading capacity for a wide range of optical tubes. Built in DC motors allow for improved motion of the polar axis rotation and reduce the need for heavy counterweights. A retractable counterweight shaft enables easy storage and transportation. The mount is available with the SX-HAL130 heavy duty aluminum tripod. An optional illuminated polar axis scope can be easily added to the mount body. The mount utilizes the standard Vixen dovetail bracket for attachment of telescopes. Power: 12V center pin positive. Main features of the STAR BOOK controller: Large color liquid crystal display. (4.7 inch 320x420 pixels STN 4096 colors) High Speed Internal CPU (32 bit RISC processor 75MHz 8MB SDRAM 4MB Flash ROM upgradeable) Zoom-In/Out buttons for the color star chart display also control the motor speed. As you zoom in closer to an object on the display the motor speed becomes finer and as you zoom out the motor speed increases to cover larger distances. Features and menu options are displayed on the large color screen and are navigated with simple buttons on the controller. The STARBOOK is easy to use and makes the SPHINX available to a wide range of ages and experience levels. A large astronomical database with 22725 celestial objects is stored.A LAN Port within the controller allows for computer control and network connectivity. The STARBOOK is also compatible with an auto guider (including SBIG ST). The auto-guider port comes standard on all controllers. The STARBOOK controller can be used as a stand alone star atlas from anywhere anytime. VMC200L-SXW SPHINX Includes: VMC200L Optical Tube - 200mm Catadioptric SXW Sphinx Mount with Star Book Hand Controller Aluminum Tripod SX-HAL130 - NLV25mm Eyepiece 7x50 Finderscope Flip Mirror Diagonal and counterweights. Weight: 21.9 kg The Vixen STARBOOK Controller - A hand-held personal planetarium Vixen is known for its amazing quality and high-end performance. But what Vixen has done with their hand-controller simply makes everyone look inadequate. If you have never had the pleasure of seeing the STARBOOK controller in action get ready for something pretty exciting. There is simply nothing else like it. Vixen SX Sphinx Vixen SXD Sphinx and Vixen ATLUX mounts include the powerful STARBOOK hand controller. At first glance you would think it’s a video game device. STARBOOK is an actual map of the night sky on a LCD screen. The Vixen STARBOOK controller features a large 4.7 Color LCD display and is the command center of the Vixen mount. It features simple navigation buttons on each side of the body and are simple to navigate in the dark. Its dimensions are approximately 7.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches and weighs approximately 14 oz. At the bottom of the controller you will find a port for connecting STARBOOK to the Equatorial Mount a LAN Port for communication with a PC and for firmware updates and an Autoguider Port. Setting up the mount with the STARBOOK controller is simple. A cable connects the mount to STARBOOK and when the mount is powered on you are greeted with the Vixen logo on the STARBOOK screen. Simply enter your observing location (longitude latitude local date and time) then store the settings for current and future use. The Mount then needs to be put into the home position. Simply point the mount north and the telescope tube west. There are also alignment marks on the mounts body to assist you. From the home position you are now ready to align the telescope with the night sky. Chart Mode and Scope Mode Before we begin aligning the mount its important to know that the STARBOOK controller has two modes. CHART Mode (the screen menu will change to Blue in color when in CHART MODE) or SCOPE MODE (the screen will change to Red in color with in SCOPE MODE). In both modes the STARBOOK will display a map of the night sky with objects named. A cross hair will show its current pointing location. The difference between CHART MODE and SCOPE MODE is the movement of the cross-hair. In CHART MODE when moving the directional buttons you will NOT actually move the telescope you will simply move the cross-hair of the chart on the map to a new location. But when in SCOPE MODE if you move the cross-hair you actually move the telescope mount to that location. Alignment of the Telescope Now that the telescope is in the HOME position and the basic time/location information is stored into STARBOOK you are ready to align the telescope with the night sky. In CHART MODE simply locate a known star on the map. You could select Vega for example. Align the cross hairs to Vega on the map and select GOTO. STARBOOK will now automatically switch to SCOPE MODE and begin moving the telescope to where it thinks Vega is. Simply center Vega in your finderscope then center in your eyepiece and press ALIGN. Repeat this process for 2 or more stars. Now that your mount is aligned with the night sky you can use STARBOOK to navigate through the night sky. The Vixen STARBOOK controller can also be used without the mount. For educational learning of the night sky from indoors or on cloudy evenings STARBOOK can be powered on without the mount. You can explore the night sky in CHART MODE and begin planning your next observing session.

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